1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a battery operated floor stripping machine for stripping materials, such as adhesive bonded floor coverings, from floor surfaces, and more particularly to changing batteries in the machine wherein the batteries are a major component of weight distribution and power management by efficient changing of batteries.
2. Description of the Related Art
In one version of battery powered riding floor stripping machine the electric motor, hydraulic pump and hydraulic motors are all inside of the housing in the back portion of the machine. This takes up space inside of the machine and places weight over the rear wheels. Weights therefore have to be added to the front of the machine to increase performance of the blade on the floor. The space taken up in the housing on the back portion of the machine by the electric motor, and hydraulic pump decreases the space available for batteries, hydraulic oil tanks and other needed equipment and reduces the ability to cool the electric motor when it is contained inside of the housing in the back portion of the machine. The space taken by the electric motor and hydraulic pump in the housing in the back portion of the machine requires the housing to be larger and therefore the stripping machine larger than need be, reducing the ability to have a smaller vehicle with a better turning radius, lower center of gravity and better maneuverability which allows easier access to compact spaces in buildings such as elevators, hallways, doorways and smaller rooms.
The electric motor, hydraulic pump and hydraulic motors all inside the housing in the back portion of the machine is harder to work on for maintenance or replacement than a design having the electric motor and hydraulic pump in a separate housing in front of the machine.
Battery operated floor stripping machines need to be able to run during an entire eight hour work day without down time for recharging. Most battery operated machines do not have an eight hour capacity particularly with internally housed batteries. It is desirable to have supplementary, easy to exchange, accessible batteries in addition to the internally housed batteries. It is also desirable to be able to easily change the internal batteries for replacing the batteries with a charged battery and for replacing old batteries with new ones.
Corded electric motor floor stripping machines have had the weight of the electric motor and hydraulic systems in the housings near the rear wheels of the floor stripping machine. The corded floor stripping machines can also benefit from having the electric motor and hydraulic pump moved in front of the rear housing to better distribute the weight of the machine to the blade.
Safety and convenience are concerns when changing heavy batteries particularly when there is a lone machine operator and the batteries are placed in a position high up in the vehicle.
Further it is desirable to change the batteries as few times as possible during a work shift to avoid downtime on the machine and to reduce the work load of the machine operator required for battery changes.